Bristol County Asylum-Barrow Hospital May 2010

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vwdirtboy

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A Mostly Mono-Chromatic Study of Decay Part III

Went on me todd

There's been a few reports done on this old girl local to me and no offence meant to anyone but i don't think they've done her much justice..

Date opened: 3rd May 1939

Location: Wild Country Lane, Barrow Gurney,
nr. Long Ashton, Somerset

Architect: Sir George Oatley, of Bristol

Layout: Colony Plan

Used During The War By The Military.

Planned & built just prior to WW2 to provide the necessary number of beds for Greater Bristol, as Glenside had become increasingly overcrowded, it was not actually used for transferred patients to ease this pressure until after the end of the war.

It is understood that it was 'commandeered' for servicemen who had been injured during the war, especially those suffering from psychological distress and conditions with a stress related component - which we might now term Post-Traumatic Stress, given the horrific nature of conflicts and the harrowing impact such profound experiences had over time.

ROYAL NAVAL AUXILIARY HOSPITAL, BARROW GURNEY

Mr. Culverwell asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the number of staff and patients, respectively, now accommodated at the Royal Naval Hospital, Barrow Gurney, near Bristol; and whether a dental officer is employed?

Mr. Churchill The daily average number of patients under treatment at the Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital at Barrow Gurney is at present 356. The medical and nursing staff numbers 215; a dental officer is included in the staff

HC Deb 21 February 1940 vol 357 c1378W


Although not officially opened until 3rd May 1939, Barrow Hospital received its first patients in May 1938. The Visiting Consultant staff was common to both hospitals, but a different approach was immediately apparent in the dissimilar titles accorded to the workaday medical staff. In Barrow the doctors were appointed as Senior Physician, Assistant Physician and Research Worker. Whilst Barrow was being built, the upkeep of nearby Fishponds was neglected.
By the end of 1938, it was known that Barrow would be evacuated in the event of war. Nevertheless it was officially opened by Sir Lawrence Brock, CBE Chairman of the Board of Control on May 3rd 1939. Barrow was a considerable improvement over existing accommodation.

During its first year of life, almost 50% of admissions to Barrow were on a voluntary basis. Physical standards within the hospital were excellent, but only private patients were allowed to wear their own clothes “because of storage problems.”
On September 2nd 1939 the day before war broke out, those patients in need of continuing treatment were transferred to nearby Fishponds. On September 3rd, war was declared and the Royal Navy took over Barrow resulting in a loss to the Bristol Mental Health Services of 375 beds and increasing the grave overcrowding in Fishponds.

Once officially known as the ‘dirtiest’ hospital in the country, it was closed in 2006 without anyone really knowing!

Enjoy :mrgreen:




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Welcome to DP fella..wondered when you were going to surface...I thought this place had been demo`d..wrong again!
 
Welcome to DP fella..wondered when you were going to surface...I thought this place had been demo`d..wrong again!

Hello mate.. thought i'd sign up and see what all the fuss is about...lol! :mrgreen: they have demo'd maybe 10%.. the rest has a preservation order till the bats move out.
 
Nice to see the old girl is still standing somehow. The demo is just farcicle really.. I best not mention the guys in the gatehouse either.

I know its tedius but it was never called 'Bristol County Asylum' - It was just 'Barrow Mental Hospital'l and then just 'Barrow Hospital'
 
Hello mate.. thought i'd sign up and see what all the fuss is about...lol! :mrgreen: they have demo'd maybe 10%.. the rest has a preservation order till the bats move out.

They've demo'd a good 50% imo. I'm glad my hassling of the BPA has paid off though.
 
welcome to dp "dirty boy"

i love this place and some fantastic pics, well done that man :)
 
Nice to see the old girl is still standing somehow. The demo is just farcicle really.. I best not mention the guys in the gatehouse either.

I know its tedius but it was never called 'Bristol County Asylum' - It was just 'Barrow Mental Hospital'l and then just 'Barrow Hospital'

When i was a support worker taking service users for assessment it said on the paperwork 'Bristol County Asylum-Barrow hospital'
 
When i was a support worker taking service users for assessment it said on the paperwork 'Bristol County Asylum-Barrow hospital'

Hmm intresting, unless it was double branding for the Glen! Thanks for the reply thou.
 
Hmm intresting, unless it was double branding for the Glen! Thanks for the reply thou.


Glenside & blackberry were classed as annexe's to barrow on our paperwork, even with patients from south glocs as well.. work that one out? probably some bungling 69 year old medical secretary! I take from your comment your to do with the BPA? :mrgreen:
 
Glenside & blackberry were classed as annexe's to barrow on our paperwork, even with patients from south glocs as well.. work that one out? probably some bungling 69 year old medical secretary! I take from your comment your to do with the BPA? :mrgreen:

No I reported some of the goings on up there to the BPA. I don't want to say too much but the whole demo stinks in the way it was being done and the way certain persons on site were gonig about it. I spent sometime talking to the BPA about the high levels of Bats up there and how they had since got in the buildings since the start of the demo. Back in 2007-2008 most of the buildings were nailed tightly shut and only bats to be seen were in the tunnels under admin mainly. As the place became more open they got into the buildings and then someone tried to flood the service tunnels one weekend.. that's when the BPA went to the council made more of a fuss about it. Since then demo has barely moved on.

It's intresting about the paperwork.. I think Blackberry is the oldest of the lot isn't it? Certainly has that more 'workhouse' style to it of the mid 1800's.

Although tedius the one thing I never saw was the hall at Barrow.. I'm guessing it was a nasty abspestos ridden pre fab sort of construction.
 
No I reported some of the goings on up there to the BPA. I don't want to say too much but the whole demo stinks in the way it was being done and the way certain persons on site were gonig about it. I spent sometime talking to the BPA about the high levels of Bats up there and how they had since got in the buildings since the start of the demo. Back in 2007-2008 most of the buildings were nailed tightly shut and only bats to be seen were in the tunnels under admin mainly. As the place became more open they got into the buildings and then someone tried to flood the service tunnels one weekend.. that's when the BPA went to the council made more of a fuss about it. Since then demo has barely moved on.

It's intresting about the paperwork.. I think Blackberry is the oldest of the lot isn't it? Certainly has that more 'workhouse' style to it of the mid 1800's.

Although tedius the one thing I never saw was the hall at Barrow.. I'm guessing it was a nasty abspestos ridden pre fab sort of construction.

Ah good for you mate!! Gotta protect them furry flyin fuckers at all costs really.. if we don't who will?

No more asbestos ridden than any other decrepit building.. I think the demo contractors just chose the juiciest scrap first!

Yeah blackberrys the oldest and scummiest by far.. I think thats why now its mainly for recovering addicts, During my position i had to take service users to all three institutions and they were all in roughly the same state.. Mingin'! Barrow just had far more seclusion and 'safe' observation rooms than the others and because i was given the most violent patients(burly & fearless me) I mainly ended up wrestling them into such rooms!
 
Ah good for you mate!! Gotta protect them furry flyin fuckers at all costs really.. if we don't who will?

No more asbestos ridden than any other decrepit building.. I think the demo contractors just chose the juiciest scrap first!

Yeah blackberrys the oldest and scummiest by far.. I think thats why now its mainly for recovering addicts, During my position i had to take service users to all three institutions and they were all in roughly the same state.. Mingin'! Barrow just had far more seclusion and 'safe' observation rooms than the others and because i was given the most violent patients(burly & fearless me) I mainly ended up wrestling them into such rooms!

The hall seemed to go way earlier, it was still visable on google maps a year or so ago when you could also see the PDU (is that the right term?) wings being built on the back of Dundry & John Cary villas

It was gone when those were still open though..

Now you see it

barrow_hall.jpg


Now you don't

barrow_nohall.jpg


Anyway think that's enough Barrow talk for one night.. although if you haven't already seen it you might like the opening booklet on sinnermans site:

http://www.forlornbritain.co.uk/barrow_open.php

:)
 

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